Gasoline dispensing mechanism



Jan. 5, 1943. F. VON OPEL GASOLINE DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 17, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l \NVENTOR FR/TZ ro/v OPEL ATTORNEYS Jan. 5, 1943.

Filed Sept. 17., 1940 F. VON OPEL GASOLINE DISPEBSING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Shoot, 2

' wlllllll CRASH WITNESS Elk INVENTOR FR/TZ ro/v OPEL BY M Mr ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,307,435 GASOLINE DISPENSING MECHANISM Fritz yon Opel, Saint-Moritz, Switzerland; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application September 17, 1940, Serial No. 357,110

Claims. (Cl. 73-198) This invention relates generally to registering mechanism and more particularly to registering mechanism for use in connection with meters for dispensing gasoline and other oils.

The object of the invention is to provide a practical registering means which will give an accurate reading of the gasoline dispensed by the meters at a place spaced from the latter and without the necessity of reading the metering mechanism on the pump.

A further object of the invention is the provior metering mechanism is of common design and the indicator hands I4 and (5 of the registering sion of registering means separate from and controlled from mechanism incorporated in the pump which may be handed to the purchaser while seated in his automobile and which will acquaint him with the exact amount of gasoline which is being pumped into his automobile without the necessity of his leaving the latter or attempting to read the metering mechanism on the pump.

Further objects as well as the advantages and novel features of the invention, will become apparent from a perusal of the following detailed description of the invention, read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show for the purposes of illustration one embodiment which the invention may assume in practice. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a gasoline pump equipped with one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a portion of the transmitting mechanism in the pump oi. the register may be restored to a zero reading by suitable set-back mechanism which may be manually operated. The liquid supply to the fluid meter may be discontinued at the will of the operator through the operation of a lever i'l pivotally mounted in the housing Ill and one end of which protrudes from the housing and is depressible to raise a rod l8 secured to the inner end thereof. The rod I 8 may lead to a suitable valve control such as a switch or valve together with a suitable electrical means for controlling the operation of the registering unit to be handed the purchaser; Fig. 3 illustrates the mechanical and electrical construction of the separate receiving unit; Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the disc member which controls the electrical means in the pump; Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of a portion of the registering means in the portable unit and Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the portable registering unit.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated atypical gasoline dispenser having the usual housing III for enclosing the instrumentalities which are well-known in the art and which include a fluid meter arranged to receive gasoline from a suitable supply source and to deliver it to the usual dispensing hose I! provided with a valved nozzle I2. As is usual, the nozzle I2 may be provided a lever I3 which is operable to open and close the valve in the nozzle to control the supply of gasoline. During a dispensing opera tion, the fluid meter, through a connecting shaft, operates a register which visibly indicates the iuntity of gasoline dispensed, The registering for controlling the fluid supply.

In accordance with the present invention there is mounted on the main indicator shaft 20 of the registering mechanism within the dispenser housing Ill a disc 2| which is arranged to rotate with the pointer I4 and which is provided around its peripherial edge portion with a plurality of equally spaced projections 22. The projections 22 may be attached to the plate 2| in any suitable fashion or may be formed out of the mate rial of which the plate 2! is constituted by means of a stamping operation as is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Preferably also there are provided ten equally spaced projections indicating tenths of a gallon although the number of projections can be varied and will depend upon the units of volume of the gasoline which are to be indicated. During the rotational movement of the plate 2| the projections 22 come into engagement with a projection or contact member 23 provided on the flexible arm 24 of a switch 25 and through such engagement cause the electrical contact canied by the arm 24 to engage with the electrical contact provided on the arm 26 of the switch. The closing of the switch 25 closes a conventional oscillator circuit which may include a battery 21, a triod amplifier tube 28 and an oscillator coil composed of a grid coil 29 and a plate coil 30. Connected in series with the grid coil 29 and the filament of the triod tube 28 is a resistance 3| of about 500 ohms. Connected in parallel with the plate coil 30 is a tuning condenser 32. Intermediate the oscillator coil and the switch 25 is a B-battery 33 of from 50 to '75 volts. The operativeness of this circuit may also be controlled by a switch 34 which may be either manually operated by the salesman or automatically controlled in more suitable fashion to set the circuit for operation as soon as the gasoline is being pumped or Just prior thereto. For example, the operation of switch 34 may be controlled by the position of the pivoted lever H which controls the supply of gasoline to the fluid meter. In this case the switch may be suitably connected to the rod l3, as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, so that when the nozzle I2 is resting on the projecting arm of the lever H, the switch 34 is held in its inoperative or off position, while when the nozzle is removed, the lever may be raised manually by the operator, thus throwing the switch 34 to its operative position and causing the circuit to be placed in a condition for immediate operation.

It will be evident from the foregoing that when the switch 34 is closed and gasoline is being pumped, the rotation of the disc 2| on the main indicator shaft 20 of the registering mechanism causes the projections 22 on such disc or plate to successively come into engagementwith the projection 23 on the switch 25. As there are ten projections 22 on the plate 2|, the projections will close the switch 25 ten times while the shaft 20 and pointer H are making one complete revolution. or while one gallon of gasoline is pumped by the. gasoline dispenser. The circuit controlled by the switch 25 is thus actuated every time a tenth of a gallon of gasoline is pumped into an automobile by the pump dispensing device to cause the oscillator coil to send out a radio signal. The projections 22 of the plate 2| are preferably elongated, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, to cause the impulse sent out by the oscillator coil to be of a predetermined duration. .The energy emitted by the oscillator coll should have a fixed wave of any predetermined frequency, such for example, a

long wave order of 400 kilocycles. The several elements of the transmitter circuit may be contained within the housing of the gasoline dispenser ID, but the oscillator coil is preferably contained in a housing or casing 35 mounted onv the exterior of the dispenser as is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. closed on one side by a screen and should preferably be so positioned that the electro-magnetic field set up each time the transmitter is op- The casing 35 may ha diode rectifier tube 42 and their associated radio frequency transformer coils 43 and 44. The signal coming out of the secondary of the coil 44 is rectified by the diodes incorporated in the diode pentode tube 42 and the rectified voltage appears across a resistor 45 having a resistance of one megohm. Also connected in series with the tubes 4| and 42 is an output tube 46, the three tubes being preferably one volt tubes. Connected in series with the plate circuit of the output tube 46 is a relay 41 which is capable of being actuated by a current of 3 to 4 milliamperes. The coil of the relay 4! is connected in series with the B battery 43, the receiver circult being grounded on the chassis on one side of the battery 48 by means of a resistor 46 having a resistance of approximately 15 ohms. In a unit of this type 70 volts of battery is sufiicient for the B battery while a battery of 4% volts may be used for the filament supply of the tubes 4|, 42 and 46 whose filaments are in series.

It will be understood from the foregoing that when no energy is furnished to the antenna 46, the bias on the output tube 46 is the voltage drop of the filaments of tubes 4| and 42 and the voltage drop across the resistor 46. when, however, a signal is received by the antenna 43, the energy picked up is amplified by tubes 4| and 42 and their associated coils 43 and 44 and the rectified voltage appears across the resistor 45 to change the bias of tube 46 to more negative by the amount of voltage across resistor 45. Thus no current will flow through the plate circuit of tube 46 and the coil of the relay 41 which causes the magnet of the relay to release its magnetic hold on a pivoted member 56.

The member 50 is pivoted intermediate its ends in the casing 36 and is normally biased to opened position away from the magnet of the relay 41 by means of a spring 5| which is attached at one end to an end of the pivoted member and at its other end to a. bolt or pin 52 secured to one 01' the walls of the casing 36. The pivoted member 50 is provided at its axis of rotation with an escapement device consisting of two depending angularly disposed plates 53, 53 which engage with a series of teeth 54 provided on the rim of a wheel 55 rotatably mounted on a shaft 56 extending transversely through the easerated will enclose an automobile parked at the dispenser.

The impulses or signals sent out by the oscillator coil are picked up by a receiving unit which is handed to the driver of the automobile prior to the dispensing of the gasoline. As is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6 of the drawings, the receiving unit includes a casing 36 which when not in use may be attached to a hook provided on the transmitter casing 35. Within the casing 36 is contained a radio receiving set of any wellknown form capable of picking up the signals sent out by the transmitter. In Fig. 3 of the drawings is illustrated a typical receiving circuit suitable for the purposes of the invention and including a loop coil or antenna 40 which may be attached to one interior surface of the casing 36 as is usual. The energy picked up by the antenna 40 is amplified by a radio frequency pentode tube 4|, a radio frequency pentode and Provided on the wheel 55 is a spring mg as.

with the teeth pressed pawl 51 which engages of a ratchet wheel 58 fixedly secured to the shaft.

56. Also secured to the shaft 56 is a drum 53 biased to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, by means of a spring 6| which is secured at one end to a wall of the casing and at its other end to one end of a band 66 which engages the peripherial surface of the drum and is connected'thereto at its other end.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when a signal or radio impulse is received by the loop coil 46, the pivoted member 5|! is caused to break its contact with the relay 41, as has been explained, and to pivot away from the relay under the influence oi the spring 5|. The pivotal movement of the member 56 in this direction causes one of the depending plates 53 of the escapement device to free the tooth 54 of the wheel 55 which is intermediate such plates and thereby enable the 'wheel 55 under the tension of spring 6| through drum 59, ratchet wheel 53 and pawl 51 to rotate an amount to bring the next succeeding tooth 54 up against the other plate 53 which has been moved by such pivotal movement of the member 50 into the path of movement-qr the teeth-l4; Wherlthe signal has completed,thememberbII 1s again attractedby the magnet for the relay to bring the' plate's II; '63 "of the escapem'nt device b'ack in their initial position, 'thewheel is during this 'p'e'riod completing its rotation under-the tension of spring I to bring Y the next 'f'succ'eeding tooth-i4? interm'ediitte the plates il fl fl xThe shaft So l-s provided" on" its "forward end" with an indicator or 'pointe'rbl'which'cooperates";with a dial race usounmeat the numberoi time's-that asignal'} ha'sbeen receivedby the loo'pf'coil of the =re ceivi'ng "unit, the graduati'ons' on the dial *fa'ce 3 designatingfliths'of aigallonel s-"is indicated I! isprovidd with 200' 200 I step-by-step movements revolution-oi such wheel; 'lThef-"shait 56 is piv otally'fmouhteti fat its other] 'en'd" on bearing bracket 64- which is secured 'to' an'fadiacent wall of the-casing 30' and within the confines o'f'su'ch bracket is-providedfwitha coupling member having a slotted' en'd adapted to 'be' engaged' 'by the oppositely disposed pins oi a'key 66. "Thus by inserting the pins'of the key"65 into the slots of the coupling member 65, the "shaft "may be rotated in theopposite-dire'ction to bri'ngthe rea'ding'of the point'er 6 2"ba'ck-' to zero andt'o restore the tension of the spring 6] so that on subsequent "dispensing operations the spring willbe enabled to rotate thedrum 59 andconsequent" 1y shaft-58' and indicator td make a proper reading'when' impulses are receiv'ed by "the' an' tenna Ill; The spring pressed=pawl connection between rat'cheflwheel I8 hhdwhel 55 permits of such rewinding of the spring 6 'withoutdisturbihg the position of wheel with relatibn to' the plates ll. 53 of the escaper'nent d'evicei "-Pref= erably this operation of restoring the pointer 'o'r" indicator '62 to a zero reading as 'iaccornp'lished just before handingthe'receiverlito a customer andfwhile the controlswitches' 34 and 69' in both circuits"'are closed and the pointer l4 of'the" pumplOjbro'ught to" a" zero' reading; 'rne'reiay' ""in the receiver will then be in a condition where the member ilwill hav'e'br'oken its co tact with themagnet thereof under the man; once or the sprlng'il'. when the lever li'is then actuated 'the engagement of the projection: '22 withswitch -15 broken to' oau'sethe member II to move out of engagement with'the magnet of the relay l1. "*Asjsoon'as' the next succeeding projection closesthe "switch 25 and renders the relay 1 inoperative tohold th'e'ineinber ","the

cyclebi operation 01 the member 50 will' ha've been'completed and the pointer-62; through the described escapement mechar'iism' connecting such pointer 'with'the member 50; will re'ister aj tenth of a gallon; "Th'us'a tenth ar a-genes will be registered by the indicator 62 every} time aprojection 22' comes 'into engagement with" the r y. j .1 iv vi;

It will be observed'that the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive means-which can be readily installedin present dispensing pumps and which isen'tirely'practicaldor the purposes for which itis intended; When 'a' 'cu'stom'er drives unto the pump the attendanthands him the receiver unit 36 which,'as"-" has been above described, hasbeenreadied' to'*receive the signals from the transmitter unit and to indicate the amount "of gasoline dispensed. Thus as the attendant punigtsthfe'fgasolihei into the purchaser's automobile, the transmitter will tosehdout signal impulses-Jot preferablya'predetermined"long wave frequency for every tenth oi -a gali'on pumped into the hose H successive signal I 'impulses are picked up by therec'eiverheld by the purchaser and such 'sl'gn'als cause' 'the pointer 62 on such unit to" move a step'-by-step fashion -irom one graduation -to jt-he ne t *highest in: orderF'thereby lettilig the purcha'ser lmovv at 'any moinent how much gasoIineLLhas 'been-pumped into his automobile without the neces'sity of him leaving it or trying to loci; at the registering mechanism onjthe dispensing pump; which is almosti always out ot 'view m me; occupant of the "car... The reproduced 'itt' low costl Ii -desired, aastotalizeriican in the re'c r unitinsteadtors the regiistering disclosed or maybe used in-addit'ioflto' the ihdi'ca'tor' fl to indicate :the cassettes-gasolinepumped into the customer's car. Also, it may be found-advisable to'provide a small lamp in the receiver unit to apprise the customer by' li'ght signals of the '-quantity of gasoliiiebeingpumped into hisautomobile. 'I'his may e accomplished; for example'by providing ajsmalf'light inthedial face 63 oftheunit andincluding it in parallel ii with the filament clic'iflt or the tubes fl-','l2 an'd '46; as is illustrated in Figi fl oithe "drawings: The operation or the ramp-u"my-be contmued by a switch 68 which is" arranged to be clo'sed by the pivoted member IO timea signali impulse is 'receivedby th' receiving unit '36 After- :the customer has received the amount ofgasolineidesired, the attendant? hang the receiver unit 36.10111 the hook provided onthe transmitter-casing 35'.- He may also at theendoi such operation :open the control render the unitinoperative until 'it is to be'iused again.*- I

"l 'or the convenience orthe attendant, registel-ins:mechanisin' may also be associated with thefnoz zle not the'hose to iniorm him of the amountof gasoline'beiri'g dispensed' without -requiring him to walk back 4 into the view oil the pump dial during-the dispensing operation. This may be accomplished by providing the shaft 20 of -the registering mechanism inthe' dispensing pumpiwitha wheel l0 carryinga spring pressed pawl 1| arranged to' engagewith theteeth of a rathet'wheel- 2 integrally formed with a gear 'llwhi ch is 'rotatably mounted on the shaft 20,- as isdllust'rateddn Fig. 201 the drawings: The geai' =13- maym'esh with a 'gear ll provided on one -endor ra" stub "shaft 15; theother 'end of 8llCh: *ShBft bein'g provided" with a tran'sverse pin 'll wliose' endsfa're' positioned in the'".slottedend of it" coupIing member 11 attached to' oneiend of enemi sha'ft 18; The casing 'ofthe shaft 18 is" 'atta'ched*to* thehose' H- and extendslto the outer end-of the hose to a point adjacent the nozzle; 1l=2=', is-shown in. Fig; 1- oithe drawings. Thesouterend ohthe shaft" is connectedito a totalizer' 19 adapted; :to; register every complete rotation; of thelpshait 1t and which is preferably provided.-'with-;n eans to set it back. to zero after ver i sn nsmepn re iem I wi t s. e Seen that as theshai'tllmakes ascomplete'rotation, 8. e ds" whl fa eet l seiid 'a r. i fat the rotational movement or shaft 20 is K ittedtoi are I, 'll inth e am rat o, will rotate nd' mrough the'iiexible shaft 18 cause the'f'totalizer lj to be actuated i'fThe' totalizer may reglster'itenthsot-a gallon as the shaft 10 rotates or mayre'gister one gallon' atthe end of each complete revolution of the shaft 18; It will talities of the pump also be observed that the arrangement of these parts are such that the registering instrumendispenser register may be restored to zero at the end of a dispensing operation without causing shaft 18 to rotate in the opposite direction. In order to prevent any rotational movement of the shaft I8 sufflcient to cause an inaccurate reading of the totalizer 19 as a result of this set-back operation, a spring brake all may be arranged to engage the teeth of gear ll, as is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

While I have described and illustrated one embodiment in which the invention may be utilized, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the use of the several elements herein disclosed, as obviously the objects of the invention may be attained in numerous ways by a skilled mechanic and without departing from the Sp1flt and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a fluid dispensing device a n a otata e e arr n to be mtated an amount proportional to the flow of fluid through the dispensing device, a first indicator associated with said device and actuated by said member, a radio wave signal transmitter tuned to a predetermined wave frequency associated with said device, electrical controlling means for starting and ending transmission by said transmitter of a wave signal, mechanical means operatively connected with said rotatable member for successively actuating; said controlling means while said member rotates during a dispensing operation, each actuation to occur. after a predetermined amount of fluid has been dispensed, and a portable-unit adapted to be positioned on a place spaced from said dispensing device during the dispensing operation, said unit including a second indicator of the amount of fluid dispensed, electromagnetic means for stepping said indicator into successive indicating positions, and means responsive to the wave signal when transmitted for actuating said electromagnetic means.

2. In combination, a fluid dispensing device having a rotatable member arranged to be rotated an amount proportional to the flow of fluid through the dispensing device, a flrst indicator actuated by said member for indicating on said device the amount dispensed during a dispensing operation, a radio wave signal transmitter tuned to predetermined wave frequency associated with said device, electrical controlling means associated with said transmitter for starting and ending the transmission by it of a wave signal, mechanical means operatively connected with said rotatable member for successively actuating said controlling means while said mem-' ber rotates during a dispensing operation. each actuation to occur after a predetermined amount of fluid has i been dispensed, said successive amounts being equal, and a portable unit adapted to be positioned at a place spaced from said dispensing device during the dispensing operation to bring about another indication of the amount of fluid dispensed, said unit including a second indicator of the am unt oi fluid. disp n a source oi electric c rrent and electromagnetic means energized, by said source ior operating said indicator, and means responsive to the wave signal when transmitted for actuating said electromagnetic means.

through the dispensing device, a visual indicator actuated by said member and associated with said device to indicate the amount of fluid dispensed during a dispensing operation, a radio wave signal transmitter tuned to a predetermined wave frequency associated with said device, electrical contact means associated with said transmitter for controlling the transmission by it of a wave signal, an element operatively connected with said rotatable member arranged to mechanically actuate said contact means at predetermined intervals while said member and element rotate during a dispensing operation, each interval corresponding to a predetermined amount of fluid dispensed, and a portable unit adapted to be positioned at a place spaced from said dispensing device during a dispensing operation, said unit including another indicator of the amount of fluid dispensed, electromagnetic means for operating said indicator, and means responsive to the wave signal when transmitted for actuating said electromagnetic means.

4. In combination, a fluid dispensing device having a rotatable member arranged to be rotated an amount proportional to the flow of fluid through the dispensing device, a first indicator associated with said device and operatively connected with said rotatable member for visually indicating the amount of fluid dispensed during a dispensing operation, a radio wave signal transmitter tuned to a predetermined wave frequency associated with said device, electrical contact means associated with said transmitter for controlling the'transmission by it of a wave signal, rotatable mechanical means associated with and driven by said rotatable member for successively actuating said contact means while said member rotates during a dispensing operation, each actuation to occur after a predetermined amount of fluid has been dispensed, said amounts offluid being equal, and a portable unitadapted to be positioned at a place spaced from saiddispensing device during a dispensing operation, said unit including another visual indicator of the amount of fluid dispensed by said device during a dispensing operation, said latter indicator having a zero and successive indicatory means for controlling said escapement device,

means responsive to the wave signal when transmitted for actuating said electromagnetic means and thereby said escapement device for permitting said indicator to move one step each time a wave signal is being received, and mechanical means for restoring power to said power storing means as exemplified by a rewinding member for the spring, said mechanical means also adapted to restore said indicator to its zero posi- 5. In combination, a fluid dispensing device including valve means for starting and ending a flow of fluid to be dispensed, a rotatable member arranged to be rotated an amount proportional to the flow of fluid through the dispensing device when said flow is started by operating said valve means, a first indicator associated with said device and operatively connected with said member, a radio wave signal transmitter tuned to a predetermined wave frequency associated with said device, first electrical contact means associated with and controlled by said valve means ior energizing said transmitter during a dispensing operation, second electrical contact means associated with the transmitter for controlling the transmission by it of a wave signal,

mechanical means driven by said rotatable member for successively actuating said second contact means while said member rotates during a dispensing operation, each actuation to occur after a predetermined amount of fluid has been dispensed, successive predetermined amounts of fluid being equal, and a portable unit adapted to be positioned at a place spaced from said dispensing device during a dispensing operation, said unit including another indicator,

mnz VON 0pm; 

